Christiansen ready to pull off stunning £6.5m Leeds striker signing – report
By Harry Sykes
Leeds United are trying to beat off Swansea to sign Valencia striker Alvaro Negredo in what would be a stunning deal, according to a report.
The Mirror claim the Championship giants are firmly in the running to sign the forward, 31, despite his prohibitive fee and wages.
It is said that Leeds are ready to meet the £6.4million asking price for the striker even though established top-flight outfit Swanswa are also chasing him.
United director of football Victor Orta brokered the deal that took the 21-times Spain international to Middlesbrough last summer when he was in charge of recruitment at the Riverside Stadium.
The Mirror report that Negredo is willing to listen to what Leeds have to offer even though he is already in negotiaitons with Swansea.
The Telegraph claim the Valencia striker is on £100,000-a-week, a salary that was paid in its entirety during his loan to Middlesbrough last season.
Negredo has two more years to run on his Valencia contract.
Football Insider verdict:
Negredro’s wages and transfer fee are the kind of sums that have automatically ruled Leeds out of the running in the past. It would take a huge change of approach for the club to pull off a deal for a goalscorer of considerable repute, who has done the business both in the Premier League and La Liga. The Spaniard may turn 32 next month and his best days are likely to be behind him, but he remains a goal plunderer supreme and he would be dynamite in the Championship. If Orta, Christiansen and Andrea Radrizzani pulled this deal off, they would instantly make Leeds one of the promotion favourites.
In other Leeds transfer news, a left-back has headed to Elland Road as he aims to secure a permanent transfer from top-flight club.
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